Dhanbad, July 6: The issue may be 57 years old, but it is still unresolved. Those displaced by the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) project have threatened to start a fast-unto-death agitation from July 24, protesting against non-payment of compensation to around 1,500 families since 1953.

The decision was taken at a public meeting organised by Ghatwar Adivasi Mahasabha, the organisation fighting for cause of the displaced, in Maithon today. Vishrampur legislator and former Dhanbad MP Chandrasekhar Dubey, who presided over the meeting, vowed to intensify the agitation.

Justifying the demands of the displaced, Dubey said he would raise the issue before Congress president Sonia Gandhi. ďI will also take up the issue with the Union government and the state,Ē he said.

On May 27, a large number of the Mahasabha activists barged inside the DVC office at Maithon and damaged computers and other equipment. Reacting to this, Dubey said: ďThe misguided policies of the DVC management are responsible for the ransacking of its office. The displaced have been fighting for their rights since 1953. They received nothing even after suffering losses during the devastating flood of 1956.Ē

Around 788 people of Maithon are displaced. Many have received compensation, but 1,500 families of Panchet are yet to do so in exchange of their land for the DVC project.